1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved design of a head gear, in particular to an improved construction of a self-adjustable rim of said head gear. This new design provides a sun shading style cap or shield of an adjustable size accommodating a variety of head sizes that is comfortable to wear and is aesthetically pleasing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The primary functional quality of a baseball style cap is to provide sun shield for the protection of the wearer's head and eyes.
The goal sought is to provide a customer with an aesthetically pleasing product of high quality produced with minimum manufacturing, shipping and stocking costs. Increased costs come about from the necessity of providing a cap in many sizes according to the variation of head sizes of wearers. A general way to minimize costs is to manufacture a baseball cap which accommodates a range of head sizes. Baseball caps which accommodate a range of head sizes are provided with adjustable features.
The ultimate baseball cap as far as comfort is concerned is one that is tailored to fit the head size of the wearer. Given a large variation in wearers' head sizes, mass production, distribution and stocking of such caps would be costly.
Attempts have been made at manufacturing and distributing a one-size-fits-all baseball cap. One such cap is the ubiquitous adjustable baseball cap with a plastic snap tab assembly. Such a baseball cap has an open back; that is, the crown portion of the cap has a cutout at the back and plastic tabs attached to the ends of the rim. Size adjustment is attained by overlapping the plastic tabs, which snap together with different discrete degrees of overlap.
Another design includes a continuously adjustable belt with a buckle assembly.
Yet another development was the use of a Velcro.TM. strap. This design is described by Satterfield in U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,148, issued Mar. 28, 1989.
Some producers have opted for a compromise by providing a set of adjustable baseball caps which cover a limited range of head sizes. Such designs employ stretchable materials in their construction without the open back. One such design of a free-size cap is described by Cho in U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,540, issued Feb. 10, 1998, which makes use of stretchable materials for the crown portion and a stretchable sweatband around the perimeter of the cap.
Another design of a custom fit cap is described by Beckerman in U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,415, issued Apr. 1, 1997, in which the cap is described as having at least the back portion of the cap stretchable and a stretchable sweatband.
Yet another design of an adjustable cap is described by Clowers et al in U.S. Pat. No. 5,428,843, issued Jul. 4, 1995, in which a baseball cap of a maximum size within a range has a stretched elastic member stitched along its inferior border at regular intervals.
Although all these designs have some merit, they leave room for improvement. The plastic tab assembly provides only a discrete size adjustment method which often provides too large or too small a fit. Also, the plastic tabs are not very comfortable when the wearer is reclining backwards against a head rest. The belt assembly, while providing for a continuously adjustable fit as well as a softer adjustment assembly compared to the plastic tabs, still has an uncomfortable buckle. The use of Velcro.TM. straps provided a continuous adjustment and comfort. All three size adjustment methods for a baseball style cap just described require manual adjustment or readjustment.
The other designs described above are self-adjusting designs. However, the lack of the open back feature does not allow women wearers to pull a hair tail through the back, thus reducing comfort and convenience common to the previous open back designs. Also, the use of exposed stretchable materials tends to engage the hair of the wearer creating discomfort. The Clowers et al design presents a displeasing appearance for male wearers. Male wearers, of that baseball cap design, find that the cap gathers up along the rim and creates ruffles.
Given that the primary function of a baseball style cap is to provide a sun shield for a wearer, no baseball style cap can accommodate all hair styles.